This invention relates to a food-heating appliance and more particularly to a food-heating appliance having a plurality of nestable cooking containers of different volumes.
Conventional food-heating appliances, or slow cookers, have a heating unit and a cooking unit. The heating unit typically has one or more electric heating elements adapted to supply heat to the cooking unit. The cooking unit is typically made of ceramic and is adapted to work in conjunction with the heating unit to cook food products in a slow, uniform fashion. The slow cooker cooks in a steady, even manner because the ceramic container or “crockery” cooking unit conducts heat evenly within the cooking chamber. Furthermore, the ceramic sidewalls of the crockery conduct and hold heat for an extended period of time to level any fluctuations in temperature if the heating element in the heating unit cycles on and off.
Improved cooking performance has been shown when the crockery is ¾ full while slow cooking. Conventional slow cookers, however, utilize a single cooking container or crock having a set volume. The heating unit is configured to heat only a certain sized container. This is a disadvantage when different volumes of food or a different heating time is required. In the past, if a consumer wished to use different size crockery, then either the crockery was less than ¾ full or more than one slow cooker was required. It is desirable therefore, to have crockery of different volumes that are easily storable and used in conjunction with a single controllable heating unit. Further, it is desirable to have a heating element that provides for different levels of heat depending on the size of the crockery being used.